Victims, survivors commemorate Crime Victims' Rights week in Ventura

ROB VARELA/THE STAR
Family members carry photos of crime victims as they march along Telephone Road near the Ventura County Government Center to commemorate National Crime Victims’ Rights Week in Ventura on Wednesday.

Ventura County Star

Anabella Hall considers it a miracle that she is still alive.

Fifteen years ago, her ex-husband shot her multiple times, and she was in a coma for a week. Although she testified in court against him, he was soon out of custody, burglarized her family’s home in Fontana and killed her father while others were asleep. One year later, she lost her son to cancer.

Despite the tragic events and her mistrust of the criminal justice system, Hall is grateful for advocates who helped her get through the ordeal.

“There is a life after being the victim of a horrific crime,” said Hall, who remarried and is expecting a child. “I feel very blessed to have restored peace in my life.”

Hall shared her story with authorities and residents from throughout Ventura County during the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office annual ceremony Wednesday honoring National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.

She said she lived in fear until her former husband was found and arrested in Mexico and eventually sentenced to prison.

“When you’re the victim of crime, you know it can happen, and it can happen again,” she said.

Hall said it is important for victims and advocates to spread the word about resources available to victims and survivors. She said battles don’t have to be faced alone. Often tearing up during her speech, Hall received a standing ovation from the audience.

Also during the ceremony, District Attorney Greg Totten presented Oxnard police Detective Dale McAlpine with a Justice for Victims Award for his work investigating domestic violence.

Totten said McAlpine has shown “compassion and commitment” when working with victims of domestic violence. In one recent case, McAlpine convinced a victim who had been battered by her boyfriend and was skeptical of law enforcement to testify in court.

Marching around the Ventura County Government Center with other survivors later Wednesday, Ulises Vitro’s parents held up signs in memory of their son, who was killed in Santa Paula last year.

“There is too much violence in Santa Paula,” Amanda Pineda said in Spanish.

“You relive the same pain when you hear about another violent death,” she said, referring to two homicides in Santa Paula this year and other violent incidents.

“We feel the pain of so many victims. The violence has to stop,” she said.